BY DAN GLICKMAN
The Rochester Red Wings got back into the win column on Saturday, using a six-run sixth and an eighth-inning sacrifice fly from Jackson Cluff to beat the Charlotte Knights, 9-8, in Charlotte. The win is Red Wings’ manager Matt LeCroy‘s 300th as skipper of the club, and ensures that the Wings will earn at least a split with Charlotte in the six-game series.
Behind 3-2 after two innings, the Red Wings (41-63, 14-18 in the second half) feel further behind in the following innings, as the Knights (51-55, 15-16 in the second half) scored 4 more between the start of the third and end of the fifth to make it 7-2. The Red Wings then stormed back in the top of the sixth, with Andrew Pinckney driving Nick Schnell with a one-out sacrifice fly to cut Charlotte’s lead to 7-3. Although the Red Wings now had just one out left to work with, they took advantage of it, with the next seven men reaching base, culminating in a game-tying single by a rehabbing Dylan Crew to make it 7-7. The Wings later took the lead when Schnell was hit by pitch with the bases loaded, giving the Wings a 8-7 lead.
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Charlotte tied it up in the bottom half of the inning, though, as Bryan Ramos doubled in a runner with two outs. While Ramos was thrown out at third, it came after the run had already scored to equalize the game, 8-8.
Rochester took the lead for good in the top of the eighth. Shortstop Nasim Nunez led off with a bunt single, then advanced to second when Charlotte’s third baseman, Bryan Ramos, threw the ball away for an error. Outfielder Christian Franklin, a recent arrival from the trade deadline, moved Nunez over with a sac bunt, and then Cluff hit a sacrifice fly to center to bring Nunez home and make it 9-8. Carlos Romero and Eduardo Salazar threw a hitless eighth and ninth, respectively, to secure the victory. Nine different Red Wings drove in a run.
Nunez, hitting out of the nine-hole, went 3-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored on the night. Franklin, Andres Chaparro, and catcher Francisco Mejia each had two hits with an RBI, with Chaparro hitting a solo home run in the second. Holden Powell earned a relief win (2-1), allowing two hits but no runs in the seventh. Salazar took the save, his third.
The Red Wings conclude their series in Charlotte on Sunday at 5:05 p.m. The Red Wing haven’t announced a starter yet, but Charlotte is expected to send righty Mike Clevinger to the mound.
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